ENGLISH LANGUAGE 3

The course, part of the core subjects of the LCSL degree programme, will develop and improve the linguistic skills students acquired during the two previous years. The course is meant to further develop students' language competence by providing the metalinguistic and textual analysis tools required to foster comprehension, production and translation skills (from English into Italian, and vice versa). The course is tailored for students in class 3 (curriculum in international politics).

English language 3 is an annual course. It comprises the module held by the Course Professor (second semester) in collaboration with language practice labs (“esercitazioni linguistiche”, held both in the first and second semester) by the “Collaboratori Esperti Linguistici” (CEL).
The aim of the Professor’s module is to further consolidate the metalinguistic competences needed to understand and use English, in particular as concerns translation from English into Italian and vice versa. In order to actively and successfully participate in the Professor’s module, the practice labs will develop the integrated language skills (both spoken and written) at a high proficiency level (consolidating the C1 level of the CEFR, Common European Framework of Reference for languages). The integrated skills focus on the comprehension and production of authentic material in English.
1. Knowledge and Understanding: the course will consolidate the syntactic, lexical and pragmatic aspects of English (high language proficiency). Students will be able to understand complex texts that they will translate from English into Italian, and vice versa. Students will also be able to identify and critically analyse linguistic and cultural variation present in the texts to be translated depending on context of situation and genre.
2. Applying Knowledge and Understanding: Students will be able to use their linguistic competence and the theoretical-methodological approaches provided by translation theory and studies to critically analyse and translate texts, considering – at the same time – the several communicative contexts and real-life applications of the texts in both the source language and the target language. Students will also be able to write complex academic texts and to discuss the topics covered in the course as well as their application in real-life communicative situations.
3. Making Judgments: students will be able to write and translate complex texts in English autonomously and effectively, as well as critically discuss the texts’ features and their impact on translation and communicative choices.
4. Communication Skills: students will be able to appropriately interact and discuss the metalinguistic and cultural aspects involved in translation; to employ communicative strategies, both in spoken and in written form, consolidating the C1 level; to communicate in a clear and well-structured way, with a limited number of mistakes, demonstrating their skills, through translation, in mediating contents from English into Italian, and vice versa.
5. Learning Skills: students will be able to read, analytically and critically, complex academic and specialized texts; to report on these topics, in both written and oral form; to self-assess their language as well as their translation-related competence.

C1 level (CEFR) obtained from successfully passing the English Language 2 course.

Title of the Module: "Translation in theory and practice":
The course provides an introduction to theoretical and practical aspects of translation, particularly with regard to translation from English into Italian. In the first part of the course, the emphasis is placed on lexicogrammatical analysis, starting with minimal lexical units (words) and moving on to more complex and composite structures such as collocations and idiomatic expressions. Elements of analysis at the textual and pragmatic levels are also mentioned. The texts translated and discussed are mainly academic texts in the areas of the social sciences, political science and international studies. However, multimodal texts such as graphic fiction and song lyrics are also analyized and discussed. Finally, a part of the course is devoted to the presentation and discussion of translation tools and resources, from dictionaries to artificial intelligence applications (MT and chatbots).

The practice labs (esercitazioni) will help the students to consolidate their linguistic integrated skills at the C1+ level.

Module: Materials supplied by the professor will be made available on Moodle. The password to access the materials will be communicated in class.
Textbook:
- Baker, M (2018). In Other Words. A Coursebook on Translation. Third Edition. Routledge.
Suggested reading:
- Zanettin, F., & Rundle, C. (Eds.). (2022). The Routledge Handbook of Translation and Methodology. Routledge.
- further bibliographical references will be made available during the course.
For language practice module with CEL (esercitazioni):
- Close-Up C2 Student's Book by Angela Bandis and Diana Shotton, National Geographic Learning, ISBN: 978-1-4080-9833-2
- Close-Up C2 Workbook by Philip McElmuray, National Geographic Learning, ISBN: 978-1-4080-9838-7
Dizionario:
Those already in use, or:
- Collins Cobuild Advanced Learnes English Dictionary.
- Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

The exams aim to assess knowledge and understanding, as well as autonomy of judgement and autonomous learning capacity by the students. The expected learning outcomes are assessed through a written exam (modulo) and a portfolio (esercitazioni). The overall assessment will take into account the results of the written exam and of the portfolio, as well as student attendance and participation.
Module: students will be assessed through a written exam, consisting in a translation (from English to Italian) of a summary of an academic text, about 120-150 words in length. The translation shall be accompanied by an analytical commentary in the form of an argumentative essay of about 500 words. Monolingual dictionaries (English and Italian) as well as a bilingual dictionary may be used during the test. The duration of the test will be 90 minutes.
Esercitazioni: students will be evaluated through a portfolio. The portfolio assesses the students’ integrated skills at the C1+ level (see Learning Outcomes in this syllabus. A continuous assessment option is available for attending students. The portfolio includes three components:
1a) an argumentative essay based on a given assignment (written component) in the first semester, from an outline provided and with citations to be included. It will be possible to take the test in class or online, through the dedicated Moodle page (https://moodle.unive.it - password requested) during the first semester.
2a) Newspaper Discussion and Summary (spoken component), short interview with the CEL in the second semester, based on a newspaper story previously agreed upon the CEL
2b) group discussion (spoken component) to evaluate oral presentational skills, on current affairs, with support of visuals.
Students who do not attend and do not opt for continuous assessment (esercitazioni) will sit the written test (esercitazioni) on exam dates. The spoken tests will be taken on a date agreed with the CEL. The portfolio tests must be taken before the written exam and will expire after two years.

written and oral

Evaluation grid:
28-30L: excellent knowledge of notions presented in class and in reference texts; excellent oral and writtin communicative skills; use of appropriate technical terminology;
26-27: good knowledge of notions presented in class and, to a lesser extent, in reference texts; fair oral and writtin communicative skills; familiarity with technical terminology;
24-25: not always thorough knowledge of notions presented in class and in reference texts; orderly oral and written exposition but with not always correct use of technical terminology;
22-23: often superficial knowledge of notions presented in class and in reference texts; oral and written exposition unclear and lacking in technical terminology;
18-21: knowledge of notions presented in class and in reference texts at times lacking; oral and written exposition confused, with little use of technical terminology.

The English Language 3 course (12 credits) is composed of two parts:
- theoretical module: lectures and practical translation activities guided by the professor. Students will actively participate to the activities, undertaken individually or in small groups.
- language practice classes in small groups with the CEL to develop the C1+ level (CEFR) in written and spoken language.

English

• The Professor’s module starting in the second semester will be held in English.
• Materials for the module’s part will be available on the Moodle Learning Environment (password protected).
• Language practice with the CEL will start in the first semester and will continue in the second semester.
• This programme is still provisional and slight changes could still be introduced.